Panasonic is pleased to announce that it will launch new SDHC Memory Cards with Class 10 speed specification in Europe and other markets from the end of May, 2009. Class 10 is a new speed specification standardized by SD Card Association as part of SD Card Specification Ver.3.0 to meet the requirement for higher resolution consecutive shooting and large-sized high definition video shooting.

As an example of sequential writing of 3 frame/sec.(1 frame=3MB), the class10 card enables to write out large amounts of data continuously up until the card is fully written without missing any shots or writing stops. The Panasonic GOLD line serieswill be the world’s first memory cards[1] to adopt this new speed class. The new series will be available in the following four models: RP-SDW04G(4GB) / RP-SDW08G(8GB) / RP-SDW16G(16GB) / RP-SDW32G(32GB).

The current Panasonic Class 6 models are highly evaluated in the market for its superior speed performance and high reliability as well as user-friendly features like its memo label. The 32GB high capacity model was awarded the TIPA Award[2] as Best Imaging Storage Media 2009. The new GOLD line series inherits the advantages of the current Class 6 line with further enhanced speed performance. Its Class 10 speed capability as well as maximum speed of 22MB/s combined with intelligent controller is ideal for large volume data recording and transmission in high definition applications. The new cards also allows for high-speed data transfer from a card to a PC. A large volume of AVCHD Full HD video data fully written on a new Gold card can be transferred to a PC approx. 40% faster compared to the current Class 4 card.

Panasonic will also introduce a SILVER line series with Class 4 speed specification and maximum speed of up to 20MB/s, ideal for high definition video recording. All the new models will come with eco-friendly packages as the plastic used in previous packaging has been reduced by 90%.